Turntable construction for a rotary reaction-driven liquid distributor



A. KADDEN 2,889,996 TURNTABLE CONSTRUCTION FOR A ROTARY REACTION-DRIVEN LIQUID DISTRIBUTOR June 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 23, 1957 mm E d .9 mm m Y B ATTO NEY v A. KADDEN v TURNTABLE CONSTRUCTION FOR A ROTARY June 9, 1959 REACTION-DRIVEN LIQUID DISTRIBUTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2:5, 1957 Alfred Kodden rotary part, of the turntable construction.

United States Patent O TURNTABLE CONSTRUCTION FOR A ROTARY REACTION-DRIVEN LIQUID DISTRIBUTOR Alfred Kadden, New York, N.Y., assignor to Dorr-Oliver Incorporated, Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application January 23, 1957, Serial No. 635,759 2 Claims. (Cl. 239-254) This invention relates to rotary reaction-driven liquid distributors of the kind usually employed for aerating sewage by spraying onto filter beds of discrete material such as crushed rock. Mainly, such a distributor comprises an annular turntable construction comprising annular thrust bearing means, the stationary part of which is mounted atop a hollow pier whereas the rotary part carries fixed thereon the radially extending hollow distributor arms which spray the sewage liquid onto the filter bed. More precisely, these distributor arms extend radially from a hollow hub portion which together with the arms constitutes a hollow spider structure mounted upon the concentric with the rotary annular member of the turntable construction. Sewage infiuent liquid rises through the hollow pier and centrally through and past the annular turntable construction into the hollow spider structure that sprays the liquid onto the filter bed while being rotated by the reactive forces exerted by the liquid issuing therefrom.

.It is characteristic of conventional sewage distributors of this kind to be equipped with an annular mercury seal effective between the stationary and the rotary part of the turntable construction, for preventing the escape of undue amounts of sewage liquid bypassing the distributor arms. conventionally, in such a sealing arrangement, in order to operate with a minimum of frictional drag, a deep annular cup is formed on the stationary part, and a complementary annular skirt portion formed on the The lower free end of the depending skirt portion is continually immersed in, a bath of mercury contained in the deep annular cup of the stationary part. The effective depth of the mercury seal must be such as to provide a safe column'of mercury in the cup high enough to balance the hydraulic head of influent liquid encountered in the operation of such a distributor.

The amount of mercury .thus required presents an appreciable expense, and moreover the turntable normally requires filler connections for the mercury, as well as means for checkingor testing the state and condition of the mercury in the cup. Such maintenance precautions for the mercury seal are provided conventionally inasmuch as excessive head of 'influent sewage may at times cause outward displacement and spillage of mercury from the annular sealing cup.

More specifically, this invention relates to improvements in the turntable construction .per se in such a reactor driven distributor, with the broad object of simplifying and reducing the cost of the sealing means by way of eliminating the use of the expensive mercury as a required sealing medium and with it to eliminate the need for those aforementioned structural provisions or appurtenances that are, normally required for establishing and maintaining such a seal.

' According to the invention, that object is attained by (a) omitting the sealing medium alias mercury, (1:) establishing between the rotary portion and the stationary.

portion of the turntable construction and via the annular sealing cup, a clearance small or narrow enough to sufficiently throttle or minimize the passage and escape of sewage liquid therethrough, and (0) providing ways and means for having the escaping sewage liquid conducted along a path beneath the annular thrust bearing of the distributor outwardly in all directions onto the surrounding adjacent zone of the filter bed. In this way, whatever leakage may thus be allowed to occur is not lost, but is subjected to aeration treatment along with the bulk of the liquid that is being delivered onto the filter bed by the rotary arms of the distributor.

For that purpose the invention provides a special turntable construction best definable by comparison with the conventional structural configuration thereof.

In the conventional turntable construction the stationary part is in the form of a casting which comprises an annular bottom portion, an inner cylindrical wall rising from the bottom portion, an outer cylindrical wall also rising from the bottom portion concentric with the inner wall to constitute therewith the deep annular sealing cup for containing the mercury. The outer cylindrical wall of the cup is formed at the top with an outwardly extending annular shelf designed to provide the annular bearing race for supporting the complementary rotary part of the turntable construction which rotary part has a downward cylindrical skirt portion in sealing relationship with the stationary annular cup.

The turntable construction of this invention differs from the conventional one just outlined, in that the stationary annular bearing race is supported upon the bottom or base portion of the casting by means of a series of columns or upstanding ribs, separate from the annular sealing cup. More precisely, the bottom portion of the stationary casting is formed with an outward extension or annular bottom shelf surrounding the foot portion of the sealing cup, from which bottom shelf rise the columns or ribs which in turn support the stationary bearing race. Significantly, these ribs or columns provide between them spaces to allow for the passage therethrough of those streams of sewage liquid which, according to this invention, are allowed to leak or spill outwardly from the annular sealing cup at a rate governed by the amount of clearance allowed between the stationary and the rotary part of the turntable construction. In addition, there are provided spreader plates occupying the width of the respective passages between the ribs, designed for the purpose of intercepting the escaping liquid and delivering the same onto the adjacent surrounding effective zone of the filter bed. That is to say, these spreader plates bridge the ineffective annular area or zone intervening between the sealing cup and the filter bed itself, so that the liqiud is delivered across that area to the adjacent efiective portion of the filter bed for aeration.

According to a specific feature, the flow throttling clearance between the stationary and the rotary parts of the turntable construction is more particularly provided by anoutward horizontal annular extension of the escape path of the liquid 'betweenthe parts. In order to provide the rotary part carries a companion flange having flow 1' throttling relationship with the stationary flange. More specifically, this flow throttling relationship between the two companion flanges or annular lips is made adjustable to the amount of clearance which it is desired to have maintained between the two companion flanges in the operation of this machine.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or of forms that are their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents, are therefore intended to be'embraced by those claims.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a reaction driven distributor embodying this invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the distributor of Figure 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic vertical section of the turnable construction of the distributor of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fractional detail view of the turntable construction showing more clearly the manner in which the escaping liquid is conducted outwardly along a path below the annular thrust bearing of the machine to be delivered onto the adjacent eifective zone of the filter bed.

Figure 5 is a part-sectional plan view of the Figure 4 detail view of the turntable construction.

A sewage distributor embodying this invention, as exemplified in Figures 1 and 2, comprises a filter bed of a depth d usually consisting of crushed rock resting upon an underdrain construction 11 indicated by its depth d This underdrain construction may be of any suitable form or shape, for example in the nature of drainage blocks contained in a concrete enclosure or tank 12 defined by a bottom 13 and a cylindrical wall 14. The tank bottom 13 is shown to have integral therewith a horizontal supply conduit 15 terminating in a vertical portion 15w defined substantially by a hollow pier 16 of an external height h disposed in the center of tank 14.

Upon the hollow central pier 16 there is mounted a generally annular turntable construction 17 further designated by its height k through which said liquid may rise centrally into a hollow rotary spider arm structure S for discharge sewage liquid onto the filter bed.

A turntable construction 17 carrying the rotary spider structure S, comprises a lower stationary part 18 and an upper rotary part 19, the latter having connected therewith the hollow distributor structure S which in turn is also designated by its own height k The hollow spider arm structure S per se comprises a hollow hub portion 20 having a bottom flange 21 whereby it is fastened to the rotary part 19 of turntable construction 17. Hollow liquid distributing arms 22, 23, 24 and 25 extend horizontally from the hollow hub portion 20 in communication therewith. Each of these liquid distributing arms has a leading side I and a trailing side t. That is to say, the spider arm structure rotates in the direction of arrow A due to liquid issuing from discharge openings provided along the trailing side I of the arms. These discharge openings are recognizable by way of discharge lips or discharge spreader devices 26 provided at and for these openings. That is, the liquid streams while discharging from the respective spreader devices 26 in the direction of arrows A on to the filter bed 10, exert reaction forces causing and sustaining the rotation of the hollow spider structure S in the direction of ar- IOW A1.

Each of the liquid distributor arms is fastened to the hollow hub portion 20 by means of usual flange-and-bolt connections 27. The end of each distributing arm is shown to have a usual end plate 27a swingably operto a filter bed 10 that portion of the sewage liquid, herein termed the stray liquid, that is allowed to escape through a flow-throttling clearance or passage provided between the stationary part 18 and the rotary part 19 of turntable construction 17.

The essence of this invention is pointed out more clearly in Figure 3 diagrammatical vertical sectional view of the turntable construction per se. That turntable construction comprises the abovementioned stationary part in the form of a casting 18 as well as the rotary part or casting 19 together with an interposed annular thrust ball bearing indicated at 29. This annular thrust bearing is here indicated by balls 30 confined between a stationary lower bearing race 31, and an upper rotary bearing race 32. The lower bearingrace 31 is integral with vertical supporting ribs 33 which in turn are integral with, and rise from an annular base portion or bottom shelf 34 which is part of the stationary casting 18. The stationary casting 18 further comprises an annular sealing cup 35 extending along the inner periphery of the base portion 34 and comprising an inner high cylindrical wall 36 as well as a somewhat lower outer cylindrical wall 37. A spreader plate or plates 38 (equivalent to that indicated at 28 in Figures 1 and 2) extend from the outer cylindrical wall 37 through open spaces between ribs 33, below the stationary bearing race 31. These spreader plates 38 bridge an annular area directly surrounding the sealing cup 35, and are shown to extend outwardly far enough to somewhat overhang the adjacent efiFective portion of the filter bed 10, which effective filter bed portion in turn directly surrounds the ineffective area overlain by the spreader plates 38. It is the purpose of these spreader plates to deliver the escaping stray liquid onto the immediately surrounding effective portion of the filter bed, in order that the stray liquid may be subjected to aeration treatment along with the bulk of liquid that is being delivered by way of the liquid distributing arms of the hollow rotary spider structure S. Arrows A in Figure 3 indicate a path of flow of the stray liquid escaping outwardly through the sealing cup 35 of turntable construction 17, and along paths directly below the annular thrust bearing 29.

The rotary part or casting 19 of turntable construction 17 comprises the upper bearing race 32 which in turn is part of a horizontal annular portion 39 which along its inner periphery is formed with a cylindrical skirt portion 40 extending downwardly into the annular sealing cup 35 of the stationary member or casting 18. In the Figure 3 embodiment of this invention, the flowthrottling escape passage is provided by way of a clearance C as between the stationary upstanding cylindrical portion 36 and the surrounding rotary downward skirt portion 40. Both cylindrical portions 36 and 40 have .their respective faces F and F machined accordingly for the purpose of establishing the desired clearance C for the escape of stray liquid therethrough.

' The enlarged detail Figure 4 is substantially selfexplanatory because of the foregoing description of the diagrammatic Figure 3 of the turntable construction. However, in the Figure 4 embodiment, the escape passage for the stray liquid takes the form of clearance C provided by a stationary flange 41 and a rotary companion flange 42, both flanges being carefully related or erable for quick opening and closing to allow for inspection, access, and clean-out of the distributor arms from the outer end thereof.

While the construction of the reaction-driven distributor so far described is of a kind that is generally known, the essence of this invention is nevertheless indicated in the Figures 1 and 2 example by the additional showing therein of spreader plates 28 provided for delivering on spaced with respect to each other in such a way as to constitute potential escape passage having the desired flow throttling characteristics. That is to say, the top end portion of the outer cylindrical wall 37 of sealing cup 35 is formed with an outward extension to provide the one flange 41, whereas the companion flange member 42 is provided to be vertically adjustable upon the rotary member 19 of the turntable construction, al-

.though means for such adjustable attachment have not been shown. In this way, the companion flange member 42 can be closely spaced with respect to the stationary flange 41 by way of adjustment and in a manner to provide the desired escape clearance C, for stray liquid. In this instance, an unmachined ample clearance may be provided instead of the machined clearance C of Figure 3, while clearance C is relied upon to provide the flowthrottling passage for the stray liquid.

The parts in the enlarged detail of Figures 4 and 5 being otherwise substantially similar or identical to those of diagrammatic Figure 3, are designated by the same numerals although separately identified by the prime sign for each respective numeral.

Iclaim:

1. In a reaction-driven sewage distributor for a trickling filter bed and also having a rotary reaction-driven spider arm structure for applying sewage liquid to said filter bed, a turntable construction for rotatably supporting said hollow spider arm structure, which turntable construction comprises a stationary annular member and a complementary annular member rotatably mounted upon said stationary member by means of an annular vertical thrust bearing having an upper bearing race as part of the rotary member and a lower bearing race as part of the stationary member, said rotary member having a downward cylindrical skirt portion extending into an annular sealing cup constituting part of said stationary member, the improvement in said turntable construction characterized by an annular flow throttling passageway in said stationary member below said lower bearing race communicating said sealing cup with atmosphere, and spreader means receiving stray liquid from said throttling passageway for conducting said stray liquid outwardly from, and across an inefiective area surrounding said sealing cup, for delivery of said stray liquid onto the adjoining effective filter bed zone surrounding said inefiective area.

2. In a reaction-driven sewage distributor for a trickling filter bed and also having a rotary reaction-driven spider arm structure for applying sewage liquid to said filter bed, a turntable construction for rotatably supporting said hollow spider arm structure, which turntable construction comprises a stationary annular member and a complementary annular member rotatably mounted upon said stationary member by means of a vertical annular thrust bearing having an upper bearing race as part of the rotary member and a lower bearing race as part of the stationary member; the improvement characterized by said stationary and rotary members having means comprising a tortuous annular flow throttling passage for the escape of stray liquid therethrough outwardly along paths below said lower bearing race, with the addition that spreader means are provided in association with said throttling passage for conducting the stray liquid outwardly from, and across an ineffective area surrounding said sealing cup, for delivery of said stray liquid onto the adjoining effective filter bed zone surrounding said ineifective area.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 44,558 Seavey Oct. 4, 1864 1,760,201 Macomber May 27, 1930 2,365,272 Hughes Dec. 19, 1944 2,583,438 Nieman et al. Jan. 22, 1952 2,611,646 Knowles Sept. 23, 1952 2,758,875 Loveless Aug. 14, 1956 2,779,732 Knowles Ian. 29, 1957 

